The One With the Biggest Mistake of His Life
by EscapeArtist25
Summary: This story takes place in season four, in TOW Ross' wedding. What would happen if Rachel chose not to tell Ross? What would happen if Ross said the right name at his wedding to Emily? Will fate bring the lobsters back together some other way? RossxRachel
1. I Ross, Take Thee Emily

Disclaimer: I do not own Friends.

"I'm getting married today!" Ross said as he bursted into Chandler and Joey's room. "Yeah ya are!" Ross left and Monica popped up from under the covers, next to Chandler. "Do you think he knew I was here?" She said with a sound of panic in her voice. Chandler and Monica looked at each other then shook their heads no.

"Oh my God Emily you look fantastic!" Ross was overjoyed to see his new bride in her wedding dress. "Oh that's right your not supposed to see me yet. But I had to find out what was going on. Are our parents fighting?" She asked. Ross looked angered and went over to his parents and Emily's. "Hey you guys, this is _our _day, so will you please just save it for later?" Jack and Judy Geller and the Walthams looked at each other and agreed. "Well alright."

Rachel had just gotten on the plane. _I can't believe I'm going to London. What am I going to say? Is this such a bad idea like Phoebe says? Oh God what am I doing? _She kept thinking over and over again in her head. She looked to the man on her left, who said he thought she was a horrible person for ruining the best day of her best friend's life. She then looked to her right, the guy that didn't really care and just kind of pretended to be listening to her when she was telling her story to him. _Am I wrong for doing this?_

The music started playing as Chandler, the best man, escorted Monica, one of the bridesmaids, to the altar. "What we did last night was…" Monica finished it for him. "Stupid."

"Heh yeah."

"We are in a romantic country and we just had a little too much to drink, that's all."

"So am I coming over tonight?"

"Oh yeah definitely." Monica and Chandler looked away from each other and smiled. Next down the aisle came Joey, escorting Mrs. Waltham, talking to Phoebe on the cell phone. "Hey Pheebs what's up?"

"Hey, did you stop Rachel?"  
"No, she never showed up."

"Really? That's weird. Maybe there was a delay. Oh well, all for the best."

"Ok well I've gotta go now Pheebs."

"Oh no, hold up the phone, I wanna listen." Joey held up the phone next to Ross and he glared at him until Joey explained to Ross that it was just Phoebe wanting to hear the ceremony.

Rachel had landed in London. She had grabbed her luggage already, but she was pacing back and forth from the ticket counter to the door. She couldn't decide. _Ross deserves to know all the information before he makes this big of a decision. But wait, he is finally happy. Isn't that what I want for him? But only if he is happy with me. But I don't want to date him, I don't think. Ugh I don't know! _ Rachel opened the door and headed outside, but then right back inside. _This is wrong of me. I can't do this. _"One ticket to New York City please." The employee handed her a boarding pass. "Thankyou."

"Have a nice flight maam." Rachel stepped on the plane heading back to the U.S., and fastened her seat belt for takeoff. _I hope I made the right decision. _

"Emily, repeat after me. I Emily,"  
"I Emily,"

"Take thee Ross."

"Take thee Ross."

"As my lawfully wedded husband."

"As my lawfully wedded husband."

"In sickness and in health."

"In sickness and in health."

"Till death do us part."

"Till death do us part."

"Very well then. Ross, repeat after me. I Ross,"

"I Ross,"

"Take thee Emily."

"Take thee Emily."

"As my lawfully wedded wife."

"As my lawfully wedded wife."

"In sickness and in health."

"In sickness and in health."

"Till death do us part."

"Till death do us part." Ross and Emily smiled at each other.

"Alright. If anyone has any objection to this marriage, please speak now." Emily and Ross turned their heads to the audience. No one stood up. "Very well. The rings please." Chandler handed Ross his ring, and Mrs. Waltham handed Emily hers. They each placed the ring on each others finger. "And now, by the powers invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." Ross grabbed Emily and they kissed so long and passionately that it made Monica sick to her stomach, but she didn't know why.

Rachel opened the door to the apartment. "Hey Pheebs."

"Rachel where have you been? Joey said you never got there and I started to worry."

"I got to London but then I decided to come home. I don't want to be the one who stands in the way of Ross being happy."

"Rach, I know it hurts, but I think you're a great person for doing this."

"Thanks Pheebs. You need anything?"

"No I'm good."

"Alright well then I think I'm just going to go into my room now." Rachel went into her room and shut the door. Phoebe could hear vague sounds of crying.

_**One Week Later**_

Rachel was still sleeping when Ross and Emily came into Monica's living room. "Hey guys it's nice to see you again." All of the friends except Rachel greeted her. "And where is Rachel?"

"I think she is sleeping." Joey said. He didn't actually know if she was sleeping or not, but he wanted to keep her from the pain of seeing Ross' new wife. "Oh well I'm going to use the restroom if that's alright." Emily got up and walked into the restroom and shut the door. Just as she did that, Rachel came out of her room, in Ross' Frankie Say Relax t-shirt and sweatpants that she had been wearing every day for the past week. She said hello to everyone except Ross, who she thought was still mad at her. "Well good morning Rachel. How was your night?"

"It was fine." Was all she could manage to say without starting to cry. He still looked angry, and everyone could tell. Emily came out of the restroom and saw this. "Ross, is everything okay? Did you and Rachel fight or something?"  
"Nope, no fight. She just didn't think it was important to come to my wedding that's all." He glared at her for another second or two. When she started to feel her eyes well up with tears, she excused herself. She looked down and then up real quick. "I gotta go." She got up and walked out of the apartment, slamming the door on the way out. Ross said "Can you guys believe she didn't want to come to my wedding?" They all said "No it's unbelievable!", But they all understood why she didn't.

Rachel slammed the door to Monica's apartment and then realized how she looked. She decided she couldn't really go anywhere looking the way she did, so she just went into Joey and Chandler's apartment and layed down on their couch, looking up at the ceiling. Phoebe saw the tears welling up in Rachel's eyes before she left the room, so she decided to go check on her. "Hey how are you doing?"

"Not great Pheebs." She took in a deep breath and then let it all out. "Phoebe how did this happen to me? I had no feelings for Ross until I found out he was in love with me. Then I have feelings for him, but he has feelings for Julie, then we are finally together, and he sleeps with someone else, then he gets all pissed off at me for being upset about it after we had gotten together again, now I'm completely miserable because I still love him and he is married. I mean he is _married _Pheebs! What am I supposed to do about this? I feel horrible inside." Phoebe gave Rachel a hug. "Honey I'm sorry."

"Wow Monica that was an excellent dinner. Too bad Rachel missed it." Joey said. Emily agreed with Joey. "Yes it was exquisite. But I am going to go to my new apartment and go to sleep now." She kissed Ross goodbye. "Don't be too long okay?" He kissed her back. "Okay sweetie goodnight." When Monica looked again, Joey was gone, and so was the rest of the leftover dinner. "Damnit Joey! I'm gonna go see what he has done with that." Monica walked out of the aparment.

"Sorry guys but I think I'm gonna go too." Chandler said while walking towards the door. Now only Phoebe and Ross were left.

Rachel was crying over at the guys' apartment. Joey was hugging Rachel while rocking her back and forth. Chandler was getting some water for her, and Monica was trying to talk her through it. "Monica I don't know if I can take this! What am I supposed to do?" Rachel was miserable. They all knew that. Except of course for Ross and Emily.

After the room was quiet for a couple minutes, Phoebe said something. "Ross, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah sure what's up?"

"I think we should go sit on the couch." Ross shrugged and walked over to the couch and sat down next to Phoebe. She took a deep breath and began. "Ross, you know I like Emily, she is a great person. And I couldn't be happier that you are finally over Rachel. Except that…" She didn't want to go on. "Except that what Phoebe?"

"Except that I don't think you are."  
"What? Phoebe that's ridiculous of course I am. I love Emily." Phoebe shook her head. "Ross, I have been trying to be supportive, and I have nothing against Emily. Now it might just be my hormones messing up, but I am usually right about this kind of stuff."  
"What kind of stuff?" Phoebe could sense a little bit of anger in his tone. "Ross, you're my friend and I love you, but I think you just made the biggest mistake of your life." She looked him straight in the eye and waited for him to speak.


	2. Do I?

Disclaimer: I do not own Friends.

"I think you just made the biggest mistake of your life." She said as she looked him straight in the eyes and waited for him to speak. "What?" Was all he could say. "I think you ju…" Ross interrupted her. "Phoebe I can't believe you! You're my friend! You are supposed to be supportive and happy for me. And you are so wrong! I don't care about Rachel, I love Emily!" He shouted, then walked out the door, slamming it, and walked towards his new apartment. Phoebe then went over to Joey's.

Ross got into his apartment and slammed the door. Emily was already sleeping, so he tried to be quiet getting dressed for bed. Unfortunately Emily was a very light sleeper, so she had woken up. "I'm sorry sweetie, did I wake you?"

"Ross, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"It's got to be something."

"Fine, it's Phoebe. She just said something that made me a little angry."

"What did she say?"

"I don't wanna talk about it. Good night." Emily turned on the light. "Ross, what did she say?" Emily had always been a prier. She wouldn't stop until she got her information. "Okay, she said she thought me getting married again was a mistake. But remember she is pregnant so she is not completely herself." He thought that would suffice. He didn't want to hurt her feelings by telling her something that wasn't really necessary. "Oh." Was all Emily said. _Great that even hurt her a little bit. _Emily turned out the light and they both went to sleep.

"Is Ross and Emily gone?" Rachel asked Phoebe when she came in. "Yes."

"Okay." Rachel got up and hugged her friends goodbye and said she was going back to sleep. "But Rach, you just woke up an hour ago."

"I know." Rachel left Joey's apartment. On some level, Phoebe regretted telling Rachel that telling Ross she still loved him would be a big mistake. "Wow she is really messed up." Monica stated the obvious. "I know, I feel so bad." Joey added.

Rachel walked into her room and got a box of stuff out of her closet and sat on her bed while going through it. It was the stuff that reminded her of the time she had with Ross. _The fossil I took from the museum the first night we had sex. The movie stub from our first date. The birthday card he gave me. A rose petal from the bouqet of roses that he bought me the night we broke up. The necklace he gave me. God I'm so glad I didn't take it back. _She continued to go through the box. When she finished, she threw the box against the wall and layed back on her bed. _Not much in there. One year of memories. God this sucks! _She let her eyes close, but she couldn't sleep. She wrapped herself in a blanket and walked out on the balcony.

Monica came back into her apartment when she saw Rachel sitting on the balcony. She thought she might want to be alone, but she thought that at this point Rachel really needed someone to talk to, whether she admitted it or not. "Rach honey you okay?"

"No Monica. No I'm not." She said while starting to cry. Monica wrapped her arms around Rachel and let her cry on her new shirt, which was abnormal for obsessive Monica. "Rachel I wanted you guys to be together too."

"Well give it up. That's not gonna happen!"

"Rachel why did you tell him you couldn't take him back?"

"You don't get it. You don't know how torn I felt. I wanted to take him back so bad, but what he did, I couldn't. I couldn't stop picturing him with her. Even for a month after, every time I saw him, I pictured her."

"If you loved him why didn't you tell him after you stopped picturing it?"

"Because I didn't think he would care."

"Rachel, I know you're hurting right now, but it's ROSS!"

"I know but I didn't think of it too much. Listen Mon I'm really thankful that you are trying to talk me through this, but I kind of want to be alone right now." Monica nodded and went back inside.

Ross couldn't sleep either. He was too angry. He got up as quietly as he could and surprisingly, Emily didn't wake up. He sat on his couch and turned on the TV. _There's nothing good on. _Ross turned off the TV and just sat there. _I can't believe Phoebe would say something like that to me. Why isn't she supportive? She is supposed to be my friend. Did she say that to make me angry? _

_**Flashback**_

Ross had just met his little sister's new roommate. Her name was Phoebe Buffay and she was a masseuse. "Ross this is Phoebe. Phoebe this is Ross. Why don't you tell her a little about yourself Ross?" Ross agreed. "Well I'm twenty-three, I just got a job at a museum, and I'm married to a wonderful woman named Carol Willeck."

"The only three things that you need to know now, is that my friends are the most important thing in the world to me, I make the best oatmeal cookies in the world, and I never lie."

_**End Flashback**_

"I never lie." He remembered. _She really does think I made the biggest mistake of my life. But why would she think that? I don't love Rachel. Do I? _


	3. The Rachel Box

Disclaimer: I do not own Friends.

_I don't love Rachel. Do I? _Ross kept thinking over and over again that night. _Of course I don't love Rachel. I love Emily. But, I do still have that box of stuff that I kept from the time Rachel and I were together. Maybe I should go through that stuff just to be sure. _Ross went and got "The Rachel Box", that he had hidden under some coats in his closet. "Here it is." He took the box over to the couch and sat down. He picked up the lid and started to go through it.

_Hah here is the hat torn off of Rachel's bear that she used to cover up Ben's bump. Oh! The "good list". _He read it over. "Wow there sure was a lot of stuff."

The way you always smell amazing, even if it's just your shampoo

The way you are with Ben

The way you smile

Your laugh

The way you always seem to make me smile

The list went on and on. _Wow. What I had with her was pretty amazing. What happened? I forgot all about how we broke up._

**Flashback**

"Gunther, please tell me you did not say anything to Rachel about me and the girl from the copy place."

"Oh I'm sorry, was I not supposed to?" Ross looked down in humiliation. He then turned around and saw Rachel. She was sitting on a bench in the coffeehouse, looking at him. Her face was clammy and she looked devastated….

"Rachel it was a mistake!"

"A mistake?! What were you trying to put it in?! Her purse!?"

"Rach, I'm sorry I…"

"Ross you had sex with another woman!" Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey were all in Monica's room listening. When Rachel said that they all gasped in shock.

"This…This can't be it." Ross said while trying not to cry. "Then how come it is?" Rachel said. The two just looked at each other.

_**End Flashback**_

_Oh my God, that's right. Wow. It's only been a year and a half. After the love of my life broke up with me, I got married within a year and a half. What was I thinking? No, I can't let myself ask that question. I love Emily. I like her a lot. Ugh, Love. I LOVE her a lot. Right? _Ross thought about that all night long. When Emily awoke the next morning, she found Ross asleep, on the couch.

"Ross? Where did you go last night?" He woke up and immediately pushed the box onto the floor under the couch. Emily pretended not to notice. "Oh well look at the time! I've got to be at the museum in an hour! I'll see you later sweetie!" He kissed her and ran out the door.

_Hm, what could Ross have under that couch. Probably porn. Damn Americans. _She looked under the couch and saw a picture of Ross and Rachel in a box. "And what's this?" She asked herself in shock. "Rachel?" She pulled out the box and began to go through it. This is a Rachel Box!" Emily started to get angry but then she remembered that she had boxes of her ex boyfriends back in England. "I'll just take care of this."

Ross came back inside, saying he forgot his coat, and he noticed Emily burning the pictures of Ross and Rachel in the box. "Emily what are you doing?!"

"I'm burning the pictures of you and Rachel for you."

"Why?!"

"Does it bother you?"

"Yes it does! That's a chapter of my life I have to have memories!"

"Oh. And where are the boxes of your other ex girlfriends?"

"Well, I don't have any."

"I see. So Rachel is the only ex girlfriend that you have a box for. And why is that?"

"Well, she was a big part of my life for some time."

"Ross I want you to get rid of anything and everything that is in this box or any other Rachel boxes. I want that memory vanished from your mind."

"Emily I don't think I can do that?"  
"And why not?"

"Because I told you, she was a big part of my life for awhile."

"Well you can't possibly still love her right?"

"Right, but…" Before he could finish that sentence she threw the box in the fireplace. "EMILY!"

"Ross I'll be back later. I can't handle this right now." Emily left and Ross desperately tried to save the box that had all of the memories of him and Rachel, but he was too late.

Emily busted into Monica's apartment. "Rachel!"

"Oh hey Emily. What can I do for you?"

"Ross had a Rachel box. Did you know anything about this?" She noticed Rachel smile a bit. "No."

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because Monica just made this amazing apple pie." She was totally lying but Emily bought it. "Oh. Well if you know anything else I hope you will let me know." Rachel played along. "Oh of course I will."


	4. The Letter

Disclaimer: I do not own Friends.

Ross had not really gone to work. He was off that day. He did, however, go to Phoebe's apartment to talk to her about things. She was not surprised when she opened the door and saw Ross standing there. "Hey Ross."

"Phoebe can we talk?"

"Of course." Ross went and sat on her couch. "Phoebe I think…" Ross took a deep breath. "I think…" Then he sighed. Phoebe was getting impatient. "It's okay Ross. Tell me I was right. I won't brag." She smiled. "Not now, anyway." Ross looked up at her. "I think you may have been right. I didn't think I loved Rachel, but now I think I do. What could possibly have changed?"

"Ross you never stopped loving Rachel, and you never will. She was your first love. You never stop loving your first love. Subconsciously you know that, but on the surface you think you are over her. And let's face it Ross you're not a very beneath-the-surface person." Usually Ross would be offended by this, but he knew she was right. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he never really stopped loving Rachel. "Well what do I do?"

"You have two choices."

"Okay. Well are you going to tell me what they are?"

"Yes. One, you can stay with Emily and try to push the feelings you have for Rachel away forever, and live a mediocre life. Two, you can spend the rest of your life with the girl that you have been in love with for fifteen years. You could have everything that you have ever wanted."

"I can't just divorce Emily for another woman."

"Then stay with Emily. But know that you are going to have to watch Rachel fall in love with some other guy, and end up marrying him, just as she had to do for you."  
"Rachel still loves me?"

"God Ross, see, you're not very deep. She has told you before, she broke up with you because you hurt her, not because she stopped loving you. She is really messed up right now Ross. She still loves you, and she has to watch you with Emily."

"Wow I didn't know she still felt that way."

"Of course you didn't."

"Phoebe I don't love Emily, I thought I did, but I don't. But I do care for her, and I don't want to hurt her by leaving her for Rachel. But Rachel is the woman I picture everytime I look into my future. She is the one I wanna spend the rest of my life with. I don't know what to do."

"I've helped you realize this. But I can't decide for you."

"Thanks Pheebs. I'm going to go get some coffee. Do you want to come?"

"No thanks. I've got a date."

"But it's like ten in the morning."  
"I know. But I can't go later because I have other dates." Ross shook his head. "Classic Phoebe."

Ross was sitting in Central Perk when Rachel walked in. "Hey." She said awkwardly. "Hey." He said back. "What's new?" He asked her.  
"Nothing. How are things with Emily?"

"Fine." Neither of them could think of anything else to say, so they both just sat on the couch in Central Perk drinking their cappuccinos. This went on until Rachel got up to leave. "Wait Rach." She turned around. "Yeah?"  
"We need to talk about why we broke up."  
"Which time?"

"The third."

"Oh." She sat down. He looked at her. "Rachel, that letter put all the blame on me. Look, I realize that I hurt you badly, but in my mind I was not cheating on you. I thought we were on a break. And we were. I know I hurt you, but I was angry because it's not all my fault."

"I know."

"Then why did you say it in your letter?"

"You never read the whole letter. I mentioned all my mistakes in the end of the letter. You only read the first half and the last paragraph." Ross started to well up with tears. "What?"

"You didn't hear me?" She didn't know why he was crying. "So I messed us up because I didn't read the whole letter? I thought you were blaming me for everything."

"I wouldn't do that Ross. I thought you knew me better than that." Ross put his head in his hands and started to cry. "How much worse can this get?" Rachel walked out of the coffeehouse. "God I wish he read that whole letter."


	5. Go For It

Ross had been in the coffeehouse for an hour, just staring at his cappuccino, stirring it with a stick of cinnamon. "Hey Ross." Monica had just walked in. "What's up?"

"I have a problem."  
"With?"

"Women."

"Oh yes, I know." Ross glared at his sister. She saw the look in his eyes and realized that this wasn't the time for jokes. "Can I help?"

"I don't think so."

"Okay." She saw Gunther and grabbed his arm. "Can I get a coffee Gunther?"

"Sure." He walked away and Monica scooted over closer to her brother. "Do you want to talk about it?"  
"I don't know if I should."  
"Why not?"

"Because, Mon. I messed up bad."

"How?"

"You know how the letter Rachel wrote me.."He was cut off.

"The one that was 18 pages front and back?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Well anyways, I only read the first half and the last paragraph. Rachel wrote down all of her mistakes in the last half, which I didn't read. If I would have read that whole letter, we would still be together."

"Ross what are you trying to say?"

"I still love Rachel."

"I know. You always have. You always will."

"That's what Phoebe said."

"Great minds think alike."  
"Well what do I do?"

"Do you love Emily?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, I care for her but no, I don't love her."

"Then you need to leave."

"How can I do that to her?"

"Ross, no one else on this planet is going to look out for you the way you yourself can. I know it's selfish, but if it's what you want, you need to try for Rachel."  
"How do I even know she will take me back?"

"You don't. But you have to be willing to take that chance. You love her Ross."

"I know."

"Then go for it." Monica had finished her coffee. After she said her last thought, she kissed Ross on the forehead and walked out the door. He sat there thinking to himself. "Go for it." He told himself.

Rachel was still a mess. She was in her room, eating chocolates and watching soaps. She also had boxes and boxes of tissues on her bed when Monica walked in. "I know something."

"Me too."

"No I mean something you don't know."

"Do I want to hear it?"

"Oh yes." Rachel sat up immediately, hoping it would be something that would cheer her up. "I just talked to Ross." Rachel layed back down and started eating her chocolates again. "I don't wanna hear about Ross and that British bitch." Monica couldn't help but smile. "What?" Rachel asked.

"Ross said he doesn't love Emily, he just cares for her. He loves you and he wants you. He just doesn't know what to do about it." Rachel jumped up from her bed. "Well what did you tell him?"

"I told him to go for it." Rachel laughed a relieved laugh and hugged Monica so tight that she thought her arms were going to fall off. Monica was laughing too. "I told you. You guys are meant to be together. Everyone thinks so."

"Because they're lobsters." The two girls turned around to find Phoebe standing in the doorway. "I'm so happy for you Rachel."

"Thanks Pheebs."

The door opened. Emily was sitting on the couch. Ross walked over to her and sat next to her. "Are you over your little Rachel thing?" She asked him. He looked sad and scooted farther from her. "Emily, I have something I need to tell you." Now she looked worried. "What?"

"I still love Rachel. And I want to be with her. I don't love you. I thought I did, but I don't. I do care for you though, and I really didn't want to hurt you. But I have to go." Emily hugged Ross. "You don't know what you're saying. You're just tired." She said while crying. He pushed her away, gently. "No. This is what I want." Emily sat back down on the couch, nearly collapsing. Ross decided to let her be. "I'll be back later."


	6. This is Forever?

Ross walked into his apartment and found Emily packing her things. "Emily, I'm sorry." She turned around and walked up to him and hugged him. "Don't be. It was a mistake rushing into things. There is no way we could have really loved each other after only a few short months."

"I know. But Emily you have to understand that I care for you."

" I know you do. I hated you when you first told me earlier today. But after I had time to think, I think I feel the same way. This just wasn't meant to be." Ross was in shock of how well she was taking it. He remembered how it felt when Rachel broke up with him and then he remembered how he felt when Emily had to leave back to England and he thought it was over. He was sad when she left, yes, but none of it compared to the pain and shock and devastation he endured after what happened with Rachel. Ross put his arms around Emily and hugged her tighter and kissed her head. "Ross. Before I go, there is something that I need to know."

"What is it?"

"Did you ever cheat on me with Rachel?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Emily I'm not one to cheat. I made that horrible mistake once and I didn't even know I was doing it. I didn't put myself into any temptation with anyone after that." She breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay."

"You're a wonderful woman, Emily. You're sweet and kind and funny and I'm really going to miss you."

"I will miss you too Ross. But it's for the best. The way you feel about Rachel is the way I feel about Colin. We should fix things with the people that we are truly meant to be with instead of pretending that we don 't need them." Ross helped Emily pack the rest of her things and went with her to the airport and they said their goodbyes and he stood at the window watching her plane take off. He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Chandler." You alright man?"

"Yeah. I just hate to lose her. I wish we could still be friends."

"You can be."

"No. We talked about that. She said it would be too hard for the both of us and she knows Colin wouldn't like it. I don't want to put her relationship in danger with Colin. I don't want her to have to bear the pain that I had to when Rachel found out about Chloe." Chandler patted Ross on the back and the two walked out the door to the cab waiting for them.

Rachel was standing out on the balcony alone looking up at the night sky. Monica walked out onto the patio and put her arm around Rachel. "Rachel? You know I love you right?"

"Yeah. Why? Whats goin on?"

"Nothing. But you made a choice and Ross ended his marriage for you."

"I know I already feel guilty enough so what are you doing?"

"Whoa wait I didn't mean that. I meant, that he did all of that for you. Rachel he has been in love with you for a very long time and it crushed him when you broke up with him. Both times. And you couldn't decide so you kept leading him on and then crushing him. You just can't do that to a person. I hope that this is really what you want because I cannot see you do this to my brother again." Rachel turned to Monica and hugged her. "You have nothing to worry about. I love Ross. I will never forget what he did but I am willing to look past that because I believe that he loves me. And I love him more than I have ever loved any man. And I hope to one day call you my sister-in-law." Monica smiled and turned to find Ross standing in the doorway. Monica cleared her throat. "I'm going to Chandler's. Be back later." She passed her brother on the way to the door and Ross went out onto the balcony. "Hi." Ross took the first step.

"Hi."

"It's over with Emily."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not. And Emily's not either."

"How?"

"Because Emily was a rebound off of you. I thought I loved her but I didn't. I cared for her a lot, but I never loved her. I never loved anyone more than I loved you."

"And Emily? I can't help but to feel horrible."

"Don't. After I told her she was mad, but then realized that the way she feels about Colin is the same as I feel for you. And she never really loved me either."

"So she is going back for Colin?"

"Yes." Ross leaned in to kiss Rachel but she pulled back. She looked into his eyes and just then they heard a loud thunder above them, then saw a bright light shoot across the sky. They continued to look into eachother's eyes and within a few seconds it began to pour on them. Rachel looked up at the sky then back at Ross. "I broke up with you for a reason..." He put his fingers to her lips to quiet her. "I made a mistake, I know." Before he could go on she took his fingers off of her mouth. "Let me finish." Ross let down his hand and listened. " I broke up with you for a reason, and it was a good one. But,I handled things all wrong. I can't believe I said we should take a break. I didn't mean it. I loved you and I still do. I need you to believe me when I tell you that I love you and accept that one of the things about me is that sometimes I say things I don't mean when I feel threatened or hurt or scared."

"I understand that. But I never meant to hurt you. I would NEVER want to hurt you. Ever. I was looking out for myself and it was wrong. I know I made a mistake. I made the biggest mistake of my life risking something so beautiful. I will always try to protect you, never hurt you. Do you trust me?"

"I do."

"You're the one for me, Rach. I love you. I always have. I never want to let you go again, I want to hear you say those two short words again someday soon, because I never want to wake up next to anyone but you." Rachel started to cry. Ross could always tell when she was crying, even when it was raining as hard as it was. He brushed the tears away from her face and kissed her. They both sank into it, much like their first kiss in front of Central Perk. She pulled back and looked him in the face. "This is forever?" Ross kissed her forehead and took her hand. "This is forever." They kissed again out on the balcony under the rain and lights of the New York skyline.


End file.
